Bill Cammack

Reader Brian, from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia left me some GREAT comments that I just read on “Gym, Day 08″.

Let me first say that THIS is the benefit of self-expression on the (literally) world-wide-web. I can’t explain to you how amazing and incredible it feels to have people reading and responding to my posts, LITERALLY from around the entire world. :D
I can’t explain it because I couldn’t have explained it to myself before I got involved. It really expands your mind and your “vision” beyond localities and territories.

It’s really fantastic that Brian a) read my post, and b) commented. It’s icing on the cake that what he had to say was on-point, thought-provoking and useful. I wanted to be sure to respond in a post instead of just in my comment section.

Brian: “Throw your scales in the river. They are demotivating and often very misleading. Water retention/loss will mask any short term changes.”

That’s what I was noticing, and the reason I started marking in AND out weights. The reason I was paying attention to weight at all is that I stay at a base weight unless I really make a big deal out of consuming extra food (and formerly weight gain formulae and protein drinks). Back in the day, when I would TRY to gain weight, I had to pretty much stand perfectly still not to lose it all back, haha. This was fine down the line, when I wanted to ‘cut up’, but it was a drag for the overall prospect of gaining weight.

This time, I walked in the gym on day 01 @ 162, which was heavier than I had ever been when I was TRYING to gain weight, which is why I was skeptical that I would get any heavier. Ultimately, at this point, weight makes no difference. I’m not a pro fighter, so I don’t have to worry about “weight classes”. Also, I put on size without actually gaining weight. So, yes, this is a good idea… stopping using the scale as some form of judgment as far as progress is concerned.

“Use a tape measure or the notches on your belt. That will give you a far more honest progress report.”

hahaha I had COMPLETELY forgotten about stuff like that, measurements. :) Now that Brian’s brought it up, I can remember actually using a tape measure to judge progress. Of specific interest was biceps/triceps, because there were three areas that basically made up the circumference (front, back, outside, to be non-technical about it), and depending on the exercises you did and how you did them, you could improve on one of the three and see gains on the tape.

I definitely WOULD do that in lieu of using scales, except I’m not aiming at any particular size, so I don’t really need to know that information. I’m aiming at satisfaction, which I’ve already achieved to a degree. A few of my female friends have seen the results and gassed my head up with compliments even more, so that’s not helping me want to get in the gym EITHER! ;)

“And maybe remind yourself that it is all about lifestyle which is a complex interactive system of relationships, work and leisure interests.

The main inputs are exercise and quality food. Your work and leisure interests also count. It counts if you swing a pick all day at work. So does a love of something like mountain biking. It sounds like you don’t really enjoy the gym – like about 98% of the population!”

More excellent points. First of all, I’m working off of “muscle memory”, so I’m just refilling what I had already built, similar to re-inflating a balloon that you already blew up. Second, my daily routine is devoid of manual labor (such as digging ditches and swinging picks!!! :D ), so working out / attacking the bag are pretty much my athletic endeavors. Riding used to be a workout as well, but that’s when I was a lot more aggressive and preparing for trackdays, at the time that I had decided that I wanted to take my riding to that level.

I also used to play a lot of roller hockey. Great for fun, using your mind on the fly and endurance/cardio/stamina.

The reason I don’t “enjoy the gym”… well.. Like I said in a different post, I enjoy the gym for hanging out and the women that show up, but actually lifting, no. I don’t enjoy lifting at this point, because there’s no reason. Nobody starts fistfights anymore, so you don’t have to be prepared for that. Girls these days don’t even KNOW any guys that are in shape, so there’s no physical competition for their attentions. I’m not playing football or rugby or any sport that requires me to have any particular useful strength. So the only reason left to actually work out is so that I get a positive instead of a negative reaction from the chicas when I take my shirt off, and that’s currently a non-issue. ;)

“The mediating process is your total lifestyle and how you give food and exercise a natural place in the flow of your day, including what you enjoy and what you have time for. Experiment with anything that increases your exercise and/or enhances the quality of your diet. It helps a lot if you enjoy the activity for its own sake.

The outcome may be weight loss, but it may not. It takes a lot of exercise and a lot less food to shift those scales.”

More great advice, and you’ve made me aware that I’m working from an ancient understanding of the way my system works… I’m going to take your advice and SEE if I can lose any weight AT. ALL. hahaha :D Now, THAT would be interesting… going directly to ‘cutting’ instead of building first. I still need to re-inflate traps & lats, but other than that, I might go for several weight-assisted supersets (dips/pull-ups), which is really good as an overall body workout and an enjoyable challenge for me as I strive to work out with less and less weight assistance and eventually get to the point where I can do all of my exercises without using the weights at all. hmmmm Yes… that would be fun. I can see if I can get back to doing dips with an *EXTRA* 45 lb plate attached to a weight belt instead of trying to REDUCE MY OWN WEIGHT by 40 lbs haha.

“However, the other outputs are a bit easier to achieve. If you improve your diet/exercise to even a small extent, you will more than likely feel better mentally and shortly after you may even look better as your body tones up a little. These changes can be achieved way before any weight loss.

So how about a quick walk down to the park and be proud of yourself. Do you own a dog?

Good luck,”

Yes. I’m going to get on this, immediately. I’m going to make it FUN instead of a WORKout. I’m going to figure out who wants to go to the gym and when and make hangouts out of it instead of something I’m just doing to prepare for the warm weather.

Thanks again, Brian. Great points, and perfectly timely, as I had reached saturation with going to the gym for the sake of preparation.

Cheers! :D
~Bill

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